Stepsister
by Hayley Cometra
Summary: Is that MY hand? It looks like one of THEIR hands! Trembling, I glanced down at my belly. I sighed, barely making myself believe it. I'm a Robot Monkey. I'm one of them. No, I merely look like one of them. Oneshot, preseries. Please read and review.


Yeah, yeah, you know the routine with the disclaimer… I don't own anything in SRMTHFG except my OC, Hayley…

Well, I'm mildly stuck with my current project, _"The Reawakening"_, but it's not really writer's block, so I expect my next chapter will be done soon. Meanwhile, in an attempt to appease my waiting readers, I am submitting this one-shot, spoken in first-person from the pre-series time. Please read and review.

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**Stepsister**

What happened to me? Wasn't I fighting a moment ago? Am I…dead? No, I don't feel dead. Then again, I wouldn't know what being dead feels like. I guess I must have passed out.

Something isn't quite right. I'm hearing all kinds of sounds. Computers beeping, keystrokes, even movement. I've noticed them before, but…why do they sound so clear and so frequent? And I feel…heavy, like something is weighing me down. Can I move at all? I think I'll try wiggling my toes.

Hey, now I'm hearing voices! I know these voices!

"Oh, look, she's awake!" Otto exclaimed in slight surprise.

"Yes, evidently, she made it through," Antauri replied. "That means that she'll survive."

Wait, what did he mean, I "made it through" and that I'll "survive"? How long have I been unconscious? I'd better see for myself what's happening.

"Ow!" I quickly held up my arm in an attempt to block out the intense light shining on me. Wait, did I just…say something?

"Are you all right?" Nova asked.

Strange…she's obviously talking to me, but she's expecting me to say something in reply? Perhaps the energy I accidentally received in the training room has grown so much that I can now have a conversation with them instead of just listening to them. Good, there's so much I want to tell them. What was that energy called again? The Power Primate? What a weird thing to call something like energy.

After a few seconds of struggling with my mouth, I managed to croak out, "Too bright…"

"What do you mean, too bright?" Sprx asked. "It's the normal light level in Sick Bay."

"Can't see…too bright…"

"Gibson, decrease the light level," Mandarin ordered.

Slowly, the light dimmed down. Although it still felt uncomfortable, I can lower my arm. I sighed in relief as I did. I slowly began to look around. I can see their faces. But something is still amiss. Their features…I can see almost every detail. And not just them.

"What's going on? Everything looks…so sharp and so vibrant. And the sounds…so crisp and clear… It's giving me a headache. And I feel heavy…"

"I believe you may be experiencing trauma from an overload of sensory input," Gibson said to me. "I had insisted that we should have introduced you to this at a much slower pace."

"It couldn't be helped, Gibson," Mandarin answered. "Desperate times called for desperate measures."

Finally frustrated at not having my answers, I began to reach for the closest one, who happened to be Sprx. I was ready to grab his wrist and pull him close so that I would demand to know what was going on. But seconds before I could, I stopped.

Is that MY hand? It looks like one of THEIR hands! Trembling, I glanced down at my belly.

My fur is shorter, almost as if freshly cut, but the fur around my white belly wasn't brown anymore; it was a light shade of blue…turquoise. I looked at my feet and wiggled my toes again, confirming that I was really looking at my body.

"I'll regret asking this, but…is there a mirror nearby?"

Mandarin stepped to one side and approached an object covered in a sheet. Apparently, they were prepared for my shock. When the sheet came down, I wished I was prepared myself…

I was wearing a helmet very much like theirs: turquoise painted in the same places where their colors were, and pink glass orbs covering my eyes.

I sighed, barely making myself believe it. I'm a Robot Monkey. I'm one of them. … No, I merely look like one of them. They can call me their sister as much as they like, but I doubt I could ever really be one of them.

"How did this happen?"

"What's the last thing you remember?" Gibson asked me.

"In the park. That freak. He was attacking. Oh, Nova, he had hurt you! Are you all right?"

Nova chuckled. "I'm fine. He didn't hurt me that bad. That 'freak' was Skeleton King."

"Skeleton King?" I wasn't sure what made me even more shocked, seeing my new form or hearing his name. "The very reason why you fight? I had no idea."

"Of course you didn't," Mandarin smiled. "If you did, you wouldn't have so blindly charged forward to his face and scratched and bit like it was actually going to hurt him. Your rash actions had very serious consequences."

"I couldn't just sit by and watch him kill you guys."

"Yet you were not responsible for us as we are responsible for you. Every bone in your body was broken. You suffered severe internal bleeding. In fact, you nearly lost your life."

"Then…why did you save me?"

"To thank you!" Otto grinned, waving his arms excitedly. "If it hadn't been for you, we would've been toast."

Antauri cleared his throat. "Actually, even if you had not performed such a selfless act, to simply let you die would have been wrong."

"Indeed," Gibson agreed. "We all worked hard over the past few days to keep you alive long enough to learn our own cybernetic construction so that we may duplicate it on you."

"Although…none us were quite as committed to the work as you, Otto," Mandarin pointed out.

I glanced at him in surprise. You, Otto, the one who defended me whenever I got in trouble with the others? The one who wanted to adopt me in the first place? You…saved me? I hope I'm not blushing.

Suddenly, I cleared my throat. "Well…I'd better make sure that I'm worth your efforts. I think it's about time I work for my keep."

It took me a while for me to find the strength in my arms, but I managed to bring my hands below my shoulders and force myself to sit up. Then, I turned my body so that my legs were draping over the edge of the medical table.

"Careful," Gibson warned. "I dare say that you're still in diapers. You have been close to death for several days, and now your mechanically enhanced nervous system is trying out to sort out your brain signals. You mustn't overexert yourself."

"I have surprised you guys before, and I believe I still have the ability to do that," I replied, beginning to push myself off the table although with a little difficulty. "I feel strong enough…to fly."

It stung a little when my feet touched the floor, and my head wobbled a little as I tried to balance the extra weight of the metal that is now my body. With one hand still on the bed to help keep my balance, I began lifting up one leg. Ooh, it's a lot heavier than I first thought. I'd better put it back down before I… Too late.

"Oh!" I exclaimed as I began to fall.

"Whoops," Otto said as he caught me in his arms, chuckling.

Okay, now I know I'm blushing. "Heh hee hee, maybe I should concentrate on walking first."

"Wanna try it again, a little more slowly this time?"

"MUCH more slowly."

Just then, I noticed Nova realizing something. "Hey, you need a name!"

"Name? Oh, you mean, those words you guys use to get each other's attention?"

Gibson smiled. "A mystery as multifaceted as the cosmos yet as unpretentious as a single star. Your name shall be Cometra."

Cometra? Hmm…it does have a nice ring, but…

"I like it, but can I have a simple name to go with it?"

Otto's expression brightened. "Hey, what about Hayley?"

Gibson glared at Otto, exasperated. "Cometra Hayley? Otto, PLEASE!"

Giving a wink, I added, "Indeed. I like it better the other way around….Gibz."

Otto broke out laughing, followed quickly by Sprx and Nova. Even Antauri and Mandarin couldn't keep a chuckle in. But Gibson, slightly offended, kept a straight face.

I giggled. Life here was interesting before, but now it will be even more so.


End file.
